Healthcare is a moral question that transcends politics – it is a basic human right, not a privilege.

When a woman forgoes a routine mammogram because she she cannot afford it, or a father ignores chronic pain because he didn’t qualify for a subsidy to buy insurance, everyone’s healthcare costs will be greater. We want our parents and our children to be healthy and to live life to their full potential, unencumbered by fear of healthcare costs. This is achieved by expanding access to the healthcare we all need.

Steps that we will take together to transform healthcare include:

Continuing to Expand Medicaid to cover more Pennsylvanians and protecting the Medicaid guarantee for vulnerable children, the disabled, and the elderly.

Encouraging competition in the marketplace to drive down costs for areas with little competition.Lowering premiums and prescription drug costs by using the Commonwealth’s purchasing power to make healthcare more affordable for everyone. Expanding and extending PACE and PACENET.

Developing a public option that everyone can buy into regardless of age or medical condition